Alexandra Eala (AP Photo)
NEW YORK CITY: No sooner had Alexandra Eala closed out her second-round match on Louis Armstrong Stadium than a rush of activity erupted on the rear deck of the packed arena. Feet shuffled, voices rose and squeals rang out as young fans, most of them little girls in tennis attire clutching giant tennis balls, raced down the stairs, desperate to get as close to the Filipina as possible for an autograph. Eala, 21, needed just 64 minutes to beat Ukraine’s Oleksandra Oliynykova 6-1, 6-4 and reach the third round of the US Open, her deepest run in New York. Yet at a career-high No. 18 in the world, the highest for a Southeast Asian in WTA history, Eala’s following appears to be growing faster than her resume. The first Filipino to defeat top-10 opponents, reach the semifinals of a WTA 1000 event, win a WTA Tour title and make the fourth round at a major. While her achievements are path-breaking her popularity is something else entirely. Having reached the second round on her US Open main-draw debut last year, Eala showed how much she has grown, both in temperament and tennis, striking 19 winners while refusing to dance to Oliynykova’s tune, no matter how often the Ukrainian changed pace and spin. Thursday’s result was sweet revenge for Eala, who had lost to the 25-year-old four months ago on clay in Strasbourg. The Ukrainian, an orthodox player, pushed against the run of play and the weight of the crowd in the second set, but Eala stood firm to close out the win. In the stands, fans filmed the closing stages on their phones, turning themselves into broadcasters of sorts as they provided live commentary for an audience back home. In the third round on Saturday, she’ll go up against good friend the No. 14 seed Iva Jovic. Eala’s rapidly growing commercial portfolio includes global giants and leading Philippine brands, yet her real currency may be the crowds she commands. Almost everywhere she goes, Filipino fans turn up in force, reshaping the atmosphere around her matches and turning Eala into something tennis rarely produces, a star whose appeal transcends the sport itself. Her popularity has become impossible for tournaments to ignore. Some have been criticised for putting the world No. 18 on smaller courts, with too few seats for her fans, while even her practice sessions at Flushing Meadows have attracted fans willing to line up just to watch her. New York City is home to an estimated 94,000 Filipinos with more than half living in the Queens borough which is also home to the US Open. Eala then was back on the second-biggest court at Flushing Meadows for the second time in as many outings on Thursday, while Grand Slam champions like six-time major winner and former No.1 Iga Swiatek, American Madison Keys and reigning Roland Garros champion Mirra Andreeva played their second round matches on smaller courts.
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Eala shrugged. “I don’t control the scheduling,” she said. She doesn’t. Should a player’s popularity influence their standing in the sport, or should that be determined by the silverware they have stacked up? It makes for a lively debate. Tennis is a highly individualistic sport, its biggest stars, read most successful, defining the eras they play in. But the rise of social media in an age of relentless self-expression has changed the equation. A player’s reach, influence and celebrity can now rival their results, raising an intriguing question, is the individual more important than the sport? Asked about her meeting with media personality Ornella Rose Hollela in New York last week, Eala called the interaction “super crazy”, saying it all happened too fast. “It's weird that some people that I watch a lot, they know me,” Eala said before adding, “Sometimes I forget that I'm also kind of famous.”
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